MASTER 
NEGA  TIVE 

NO.  93-81640 


MICROFILMED  1993 
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AUTHOR: 


HERVE,  JOHN 


TITLE: 


A  DISCOURSE  ON  THE 
HISTORY  AND  ... 

PLACE: 

RICHMOND 

DA  TE : 

1830 


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Herv6t  John, 

A  Discourse  on  the  history  and  importance  of  the 
philosophy  of  the  human  mind;  delivered  at  Miss 
MacKenzie's  Academy,  as  introductory  to  a  course  o^ 
logick  and  moral  philosophy  by  J.  Herve.   Rich- 
mond, Shepherd,  1830. 

24  p.  21  on# 


FILM  SIZE: 

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DISCOURSE. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen, 

It  is  very  natural  that  I  should  feel  diffident  in  address- 
ing  you  in  a  language  foreign  to  me.  but  I  hope  that  you  wjl  be 
so  indulgent  as  to  pay  more  attention  to  the  substance  of  my 
Discour  e  than  to  the  manner  in  which  it  wdl    e  del.vered 

Although  I  may  need  an  apology  for  myself,  rt.e  subject  of 
which  I  intend  to  treat  requires  none,  for  *«  h.story  of   he 
Human  Mind  is  one  of  the  most  important  stud.es  wh.ch  can 
occupy  the  intellectual  faculties.     To  know  and  meditate  on 
Tvery  moral  and  philosophical  opinion  which  has  esercsed 
an  influence  over  the  destinies  of  mankind,  from  the  remote^ 
aees  to  our  days,  enlightens  and  gives  comprehensiveness  to 
Surderstanding.    This  knowledge  is  the  noblest  treasure 
bequeathed  to  us  by  the  wisdom  of  past  <=;""=-;*  ^'' 
powerful  means  of  improving  ourselves     The  mmd  qu.ck- 
ened  and  enlightened  by  the  habit  of  med.tat.on  on  so  majy 
dWergent  opinions,  is  less  liable  to  err  or  to  be  dece.ved  by 
JpSical  feasoning^is  better  prepared  to   .scover  Ju^- 
detect  falsehood,  and  refute  iUogical  asserUons.     H  sto.7 
offers  much  amusement  and  several  useful  h.n  s,  but  how 
much  greater  are  the  advantages  to  be  denved  from  that  of 
Sos^phy     How  few  facts  axe  fruitful!   What  an  .mmense 
Tumrof  sterile  events  which  leave  the  mind  m  the  same 


%:^ 


4 


DISCOURSE. 


I 


uncertainty!  How  can  we  obtain  the  proof  that  we  know 
the  real  causes  of  such  and  such  events  ?  If  we  are  igno- 
rant of  the  causes,  is  not  history  reduced  to  a  nomenclature 
of  battles,  victories,  revolutions,  &c.  ?  In  speaking  thus,  I  do 
not  intend  to  deny  the  utility  of  this  branch  of  knowledge, 
but — Amicus  Plato,  sed  magis  arnica  Veritas. 

In  this  respect  the  history  of  Philosophy  has  a  great  supe- 
riority over  civil  history,  for  several  philosophers  have  ex- 
pressed in  their  works  the  motives  of  their  belief  and  upon 
what  foundation  they  have  erected  their  systems ;  and  in  order 
to  have  a  complete  history  of  Philosophy,  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  collect  all  the  works  written  on  this  science — ^Then 
beginning  by  the  most  ancient,  describing  chronologically 
every  system  and  opinion — giving  the  reasons  why  they  have 
been  adopted,  and  how  they  have  been  illustrated — so  as  to 
condense  the  whole  human  ideas  in  a  concise  and  correct 
view.  To  be  more  useful  such  a  work  should  be  printed 
with  double  columns — ^the  one  containing  the  narrative  of 
the  theories, — the  other  pointing  out  the  objections,  sophisms 
or  errors  by  which  many  are  supported.  Such  a  production 
would  require  immense  labor,  and  an  unprejudiced  mind. 
However  the  undertaker  would  be  much  assisted  by  the 
best  historians  of  Philosophy,  among  whom  are  Buonafede, 
Brucker,  Tiedemann,  Tenneraann,  Eberhard,  Staudling, 
Meyners,  Reinhold,  Adelung,  MM.  Degerando,  V.  Cousin, 
Laurent,  Rio,  he. 

The  narrow  limits  of  an  introductory  lecture  compel  me 
to  give  but  a  very  incomplete  sketch  of  the  greatest  philoso- 
phers, and  a  rapid  review  of  their  principles.  Perhaps  on  a 
future  day  I  shall  write  something  less  unworthy  of  those 
illustrious  men,  so  highly  entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  every 
friend  of  intellectual  improvement.  The  shortness  of  a  Dis- 
course not  allowing  me  to  follow  my  own  plan,  I  shall  avail 


DISCOURSE. 

myself  of  the  excellent  Compendium  of  M.  Laurent,  and 
adopt  the  classification  of  MM.  Degerando  and  i^aud,  even 
sometimes  their  phraseology,  in  dividing  into  five  epochs 
rrncipal  revolutions  of  the  Philosophy  of  the  Human 
Mind      The  first  comprehends  from  the  origin  of  Philosophy 
to  S;crates,-the  second  continues  from  Socrates  ^  the 
translation  of  the  Grecian  Philosophy  into  E^npt  and  Rome. 
The  third  period  extends  from  the  school  of  Alexandria  to 
le  M  of  the  Western  Empire,-the  fourth  from  the  M 
of  the' Western  Empire  to  the  revival  of  Letters,--and  the 
fifth,  from  die  revival  of  Letters  to  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 

''^ThT  Sages  of  the  remotest  antiquity,  known  under  the 
name  of  Patriarchs,  may  be  considered  as  the  first  Philoso- 
tihers     The  conception  of  the  fundamental  ideas  upon  which 
L  ancient  religions  of  the  East  were  esublished,  belongs  to 
those  preceptors  of  mankind.     On  the  banks  of  the  Nile  as 
well  as  on  those  of  the  Ganges,  men  favoured  by  die  mspi- 
rations  of  Philosophy,  struck  with  the  wonders  which  sur- 
rounded  them,  worshipped  the  sublime  power  presidmg  over 
the  universe.     However  the  people  were  not  yet  sufficiently 
enlightened  to  adore  God :  they  continued  to  represent  under 
sensible  signs,  the  moving  force  of  the  universe,  and  they  did 
not  distinguish  it  from  matter.    They  considered  them  bo  h, 
on  die  contrary,  as  united,  and  forming  one  indivisible  whole, 
that  they  represented  under  the  form  of  an  egg,  and^  of 
which  die  Egyptians  made  dieir  Great  Pan,  the  Indians  their 
Vichnou,  the  Chinese  dieir  Fo,  the  Phenicians  their  Hercules, 
the  Persians  their  Ororaazes,  the  Greeks  dieir  Jupiter,  to. 

■    .Vide  Herodotus,  Diodorae,  Plato,  Porphynus.  Sextus,  Empedocl«. 
P,„i.  Mu»h,W„burton,Wolf.  Herbelot,  Freret,  Creuzer,  D»p»is, 

"tl'Zy  SS:2 1  T»vels  of  M.  Cha^poUion  wiU  throw  U,ht  ou 
this  subj«!t  in  decyphering  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphicks. 


DISCOURSfi. 


Reason,  says  Degerando,  in  contemplating  nature  for  the 
first  time,  considered  the  world  as  having  two  general  forms — 
the  one  personifying  the  general  laws, — the  other  giving  in- 
telligence to  sensible  phenomena:  The  one  presided  over 
the  formation  of  cosmogonies, — the  other  over  the  systerai 
of  emanations, — but  the  pantheism,  or  worshipping  of  nature, 
preceded  the  abstract  doctrine  of  universal  spiritualism. — 
Whilst  men  were  deifying  the  stars  or  the  elements,  and  pros- 
trating themselves  before  impostors  or  heroes  whom  they 
had  raised  to  the  rank  of  deities,  those  who  possessed  social 
supremacy  perceived  that  the  preservation  of  their  influence 
could  be  maintained  only  by  intellectual  superiority.  They 
studied  secretly  the  sciences  and  arts,  and  did  not  communi- 
cate them  but  to  initiates.  Thus  through  all  the  fables  of 
Osiris  and  Isis,  Vichnou  and  Bramah,  the  priests  of  Egypt,  and 
the  gymnosophists  of  the  Indies  continued  to  teach  to  their 
neophites  theology  and  ethicks  unknown  to  the  lower  casts. 

All  the  ingenious  follies  invented  by  the  imagination  of  the 
poets,  the  sublime  creations  of  Homer,  the  Theogony  of 
Hesiod,  the  Cosmogony  of  Sanchoniaton,  that  of  the  Chal- 
deans and  Persians,  the  fables  of  Hermes  and  Orpheus  were 
believed  by  the  ignorant  crowd,  but  they  did  not  deceive 
men  who  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  reason  and  science.  The 
social  organization  was  such  that  the  powers  of  Heaven  and 
Earth  were  skilfully  combined.  Theocracy,  aristocracy  and 
despotism  were  united  in  prescribing  to  the  people  a  blind 
submission, — forbidding  examination  as  sacrilegious,  and  con- 
demning innovation  as  a  crime  of  state.  The  sources  of  in- 
struction and  truth  were  open  only  to  a  few  privileged  classes 
in  order  to  prevent  the  development  of  human  faculties. 
But  happily  for  mankind,  at  intervals,  appeared  great  and 
generous  men  who  sacrificed  the  interests  of  casts  for  the 
good  of  nations,  and  spread  over  tlie  universal  family  the 


DISCOURSE. 

K»„pficent  light  of  Philosophy:  such  was  Zoroaster  among 
t  pSL       The  system  of  the  two  principles,  born  from 
h    pe    eTutl  conflict'of  good  and  evil,  is  the  bas.s  o   the 
heogZ  of  this  people  and  of  many  other  eastern  nafons^ 
Ormuzd  and  Arimanes,  found  under  different  names,  m  most 
Sions.  -re  the  two  rival  powers  which  gave  laws  to  the 

'"»r  laid  aside  the  initiations,  and  more  ambitious  ^ 
contribute  to  the  happiness  of  --^X  the  purj^i^  ^ 
their  beUef,  than  to  enrich  the  sacerdotal  body  by  the  fruits 
If  his  ten ius,  he  rendered  his  teaching  as  solemn  as  his 
die  w  s  ublime.    Nevertheless  the  monotheism  that  he 
Sisled  over  the  annihilated  power  of  the  two  pnnc.ples 
;^   UU  but  a  re-production  of  the  Pantheism  or  pnm.uve 
TSv    The  Iving  and  intelligent  spint —n^^^^^ 
HUnLne  every  part  of  the  universe,  appeared  to  the  Persian 
rrefSbutes  of  a  single  divinity.     There  was  b. 
one  step  more  to  imagine  that  the  human  soul  is  in  direct 
L  constant  communication  with  the  --r-l  spirU      The 
Lrcise  of  contemplation  became  the  first  logic :  truth  was 
r  rence  of  God  himself.-reason  an  i"— ---^^ 
was  the  origin  of  the  system  of  emanauons  adopted  by  ^e 
Egyptians,  Chaldeans,  Persians  and  Indians.    Py*«S°^2 
S  Ws  travels,  borrowed  these  dogmas  and  spread  diem 
Arough  Greece.    That  country  possessed  also  her  myste 
riesld  gradual  initiations.    But  as  to  the  doctrmes,  they 
ietto' agriculture,  according  to  Plucbe;  to  astronomy 
according  to  Dupuis;  to  pure  theology,  accordmg  to  War 
Zon    they  announced  rewards  and  future  punishments, 
arrding  S^Isocrates  and  Cicero-admitted  the  intemnuon 
of  S  lording  to  Plutarch,  and  formed  but  a  kind  of 
Pa!*  i  m Td  of 'universal  spiritualism,  if  we  are  wiUing  to 
Se  Apulei-  and  Plotinus  in  his  CommenUries. 


8 


DISCOURSE. 


Whatever  may  be  the  truth  among  numerous  explana- 
tions, the  doctrine  of  the  mystagogues  lost  insensibly  its  in- 
fluence in  Greece.  A  liberal  legislation  extended  the  field 
of  |)hilosophical  knowledge :  moral  ideas  were  improved, 
because  the  wise  authors  of  a  happy  revolution  were  the 
rulers  of  their  country.  Then '  shone  Zaleucus  and  Cha- 
rondas,  who  contributed  so  potently  to  the  prosperity  of  their 
felbw-citizens,  by  the  wisdom  of  their  laws.  Then  flourished 
those  Gnomicks  or  Sages  of  Greece,  who  limited  their  les- 
sons to  civil  life,  and  who  deserved,  before  Socrates,  to  be 
praised  for  having  caused  Philosophy  to  descend  from  Hea- 
ven, to  invest  her  with  the  direction  of  mankind.  Such  were 
Pittacus  of  Mytelene,  and  Bias  of  Priene,  who  recommended 
to  their  disciples  the  love  of  truth  and  frugality ;  Periander, 
tyrant  of  Corinth,  whose  precepts,  however,  were  better  than 
his  examples — Cleobulus,  who  limited  morality  to  avoid  in- 
justice or  vice.  Chilo,  who  said  he  knew  three  difficult 
things — -To  keep  a  secret,  to  endure  injuries,  and  to  make  a 
good  use  of  time. 

Thales  and  Solon  complete  with  eclat  the  list  of  tbe  sevea 
ttnse  men — Solon  exhibited  his  moral  and  political  principles 
in  his  immortal  laws,  which  place  him  among  the  greatest 
legislators  of  any  age.  Thales  created  Philosophy  as  a  spe- 
culative science,  and  founded  the  School  of  Ionia.  Water 
appeared  to  him  the  primitive  element  from  which  every  thing 
b  derived.  His  observations  were  ahnost  confined  to  external 
phenomena.  Anaximander,  friend  to  Thales,  adopted  his  doc- 
trines — ^wrote  a  book  on  JVature,  in  which  he  supports  his 
metaphysical  speculations:  he  is  the  author  of  the  lonick 
axiom:  J^othing comes fromnotking.  Anaximenes inherited 
the  scientific  knowledge  gathered! by  these  two  philosophers: 
be  attributed  life,  motion  and.  thought  to  air. :  Poyer'ty,j  ac- 
cording to  him,  is  the  teacher  of  wisdom,  for  it  is  the  parent 


DISCO0BSE. 


9 


of  industry.    Hermotimus,  advancing  in  the  path  traced  by 
his  predecessors,  studied  Psycology,  and  Anaxagoras,  sur- 
named  veoC,  introduced  deism  into  the  Ionian  Ph.bsophy. 
His  theological  discoveries  alarmed  *e  pnests  and  fanauc 
worshippers  of  Polytheim,  and  provoked  th^r  wrath.    To  the 
shame  of  the  Athenians,  they  suffered  to  be  proscnbed,  as 
an  atheist,  the  first  philosopher  who  taught  them  to  make 
a  distinction  between  the  intellect  and  matter,  and  to  ac- 
knowledge  a  supernatural  cause  to  the  Universe      D.ogenes 
of  Apollonia  admitted,  as  all  the  philosophers  of  h.s  school, 
a  primordial  element;  he  pretended  that  it  contamed  orw 
ginally  the  germs  of  modifications  which  it  presents  m  .« 
fnfinite  transmutations,  and  in  its  pbenomemc  FoJ~ tf 
Archilaas,  the  last  of  the  Ionian  philosophers,  applied  himself 
to  the  study  of  morality;  and  in  searching  the  foundaUon  of 
natural  rights,  he  discovered  the  erroneous  system  that  Hobbes 
has  since  developed  in  his  Elementa  PhUosophrca  de  C.re- 
Leviathan,  sive  de  Republka.    According  ^.^'^  --!;'  f 
Socrates,  the  difference  between  justice  and  injustice  is  not 
founded  on  nature,  but  on  positive  laws. 

The  doctrines  of  Pythagoras,  founder  of  the  Italick  School, 
were  surrounded  with  glory  during  his  life,  and  exercised  a 
great  influence  in  after  centuries.    He  spent  the  years  of  hu, 
youth  in  study,  and  travelled  to  Egypt  and  Chaldea,  m  order 
to  be  initiated  in  the  mysterious  knowledge  of  the  sacerdot^ 
casts.    When  he  came  back  to  Samos,  his  naUve  country,  he 
found  it  oppressed  by  the  tyranny  of  Polycrates.    He  fled 
from  an  enslaved  land  to  Grotona,  where  he  could  exh.bt 
with  independence  his  bold  and  philosophical  speculations. 
His  Institution  excited  universal  admiration.    The  gemus  of 
Pythagoras,  probably  influenced  by  the  eastern  error  of  mys- 
ticism:  limited  to  few  adepts  the  propagation  o    science 
During  many  ages,  says  Cabanis,  he  produced  legisla^rs 
for  ancient  Italy,  geometers  and  astronomers  for  all  Greece, 

2 


10 


DISCOURSE. 


DISCOURSE. 


11 


III 


and  wise  men  for  all  the  world.  He  made  use  of  science 
as  a  means  of  social  amelioration — as  a  salutary  light  to  con- 
duct men  to  virtue  and  happiness.  Saint  Justin,  after  Virgil 
and  Ovid,  describes  with  great  precision  the  pantheism  of 
those  philosophers  :  "  God  is  not  out  of  the  world,  says  he, 
but  in  the  world  itself,  and  entirely  in  the  whole  Universe." 
The  Pythagorian  Psychology  consecrated  only,  under  the 
name  of  Metempsychosis,  the  doctrine  of  a  universal  soul, 
animating  successively  all  beings  in  the  perpetual  transforma- 
tions of  material  substances.  One  of  the  fundamental  maxims 
of  that  school  was,  that  "  the  love  of  truth  and  zeal  to  do  good, 
are  the  most  precious  gifts  that  God  has  granted  to  man." 

Pythagoras  was  the  first  who  modestly  refused  the  title  of 
wise,  and  took  that  of  lover  of  wisdom.  The  disciples  of  this 
great  man  almost  confined  themselvas  to  the  adage  of  his  Insti- 
tution, Magisier  dixit.  Among  them  were  Empedocles,  who 
considered  the  four  elements  as  the  first  principle ;  Ocellus  of 
Lucania;  Timajus  of  Locria,  who  distinguished  two  causes — 
the  intellect  which  combines,  and  the  necessity  which  re- 
sults from  the  qualities  of  bodies;  Cephantes  of  Syracuse, 
who  is  supposed  the  first  who  considered  monades  as  corpo- 
real; Architas  of  Tarentum,  who  was  the  master  of  Plato, 
associated  Morality  with  Theology ;  Philolaus,  who  denied  the 
existence  of  a  single  principle;  and  Eudoxes,  who  professed 
the  principles  that  Epicurus  taught  afterwards.  The  doctrines 
of  Pythagoras  gave  birth  to  the  Eleian  School,  which  was 
divided  in  two  branches,  the  one  headed  by  Xenophanes  of 
Colophon,  who  extended  to  absolute  existence  the  power  of 
reason,  and  made  new  progress  towards  idealism.  "  God  is 
one,  said  he,  and  there  can  be  but  one  God :"  and  he  repre- 
sented him  under  a  spherical  form.  However,  he  ended  by 
doubting  of  his  own  afiirmations.  «  No  man,  said  he,  knows 
any  thing  certain  on  what  he  says  of  the  universal  whole." 

The  doctrines  of  Xenophanes  were  successively  developed 


or  defended  by  Parmenides,  Melissus  and  Zeno.    Parmemdes 
gave  the  first  systematic  theory  on  human  knowledge.     He 
denied  in  an  absolute  manner  the  evidences  of  our  senses- 
maintained  that  appearances  had  no  reality,  and  that  thought 
was  the  only  real  being.     He  is  considered  as  the  father  of 
ancient  idealism.     Zeno  of  Elea  applied  himself  less  to  es- 
tablish  the  correctness  of  the  dogmas  of  his  school,  than  to 
demonstrate  the  insufficiency  of  the  experimental  method  and 
the  uncertainty  of  its  results.     This  discussion  gave  rise  to 
loeic.     Zeno  divided  it  into  three  branches  :  the  art  of  de- 
ducing  consequences  or  argumentation,  the  dialogumg  art  or 
dialectick,  and  the  art  of  discussing. 

Whilst  the  disciples  of  Thales  were  exploring  nature  as 
natural  philosophers,  those  of  Pythagoras  as  geon.etnc.ans, 
and  the  Eleatics  as  metaphysicians,  a  philosopher,  Herachtus 
of  Ephesus,  was  creating  a  system  differing  equally  from 
co-eval  doctrines.  He  admitted  that  every  thing  m  nature 
is  regulated  by  constant  laws-that  phenomena  which  appear 
discordant,  concur  to  universal  harmony.  Truth  belongs  to 
intellectual  order,  in  which  reason  alone  is  omnipotent. 

Hippocrates,  though  placed  by  some  writers  among  his 
followers,  has  consecrated  the  utility  of  experience  m  saying 
that  we  must  deduce  rules  from  practice,  not  from  a  series  of 
previous  reasonings,  however  probable  they  may  be,  but  rom 
experience  directed  by  reason.  His  first  aphorism  contains 
the  following  words,  which  deserve  to  be  engraved  m  the 
mind  of  every  man-Fita  brevis,  ars  longa,  occcio  prceceps, 
experientia  fallax,  judicium  difficUe. 

Leucippus,  chief  of  the  other  branch  of  the  Eleaticks, 
maintained  that  form,  motion  and  space  were  the  primmve 
conditions  of  the  existence  of  things.  He  founded  on  this 
discovery  the  system  of  atoms,  or  bodies  exclusive  y  com- 
posed  of  elementary  qualities :  he  supposed  that  mouon  was 
inherent  to  every  atom,  and  identified  life,  thought  and  motion. 


13 


DISCOURSE. 


Democritus,  adopting  the  Cosmology  of  Leucippus,  di- 
reicted  his  zeal  and  his  philosophical  attention  to  Ideology. 
He  perceived  in  this  science  the  doctrine  which  was  after- 
wards developed  among  the  ancients  by  Aristotle,  and,  with 
important  modifications,  among  the  moderns,  by  Gassendi, 
Locke,  Helvetius,  Condillac,  M.  Destutt  de  Tracy,  &c. 

The  Chinese  Philosophy  deserves  to  draw  a  moment  our 
attention.  A  generous  reformer,  Confucius,  descended  from 
an  illustrious  family,  a  mandarin,  and  elevated  to  the  dignity 
of  a  minister  of  State,  quitted  willingly  the  eclat  of  human 
grandeur,  to  devote  himself  to  Moral  Philosophy,  and  became 
the  preceptor  of  his  fellow-men.  In  a  short  time,  many  thou- 
sand disciples  ran  to  listen  to  his  lessons,  and  spread  afterwards 
his  principles  over  the  vast  extent  of  the  Chinese  Empire. 

The  philosopher,  according  to  this  great  man,  is  he  who 
has  a  profound  knowledge  of  things  and  books,  who  weighs 
every  thing,  submits  himself  to  reason,  and  walks  with  as- 
surance in  the  path  of  truth  and  justice. 

Confucius  composed  the  Chou-King,  the  finest  and  the 
most  revered  book  of  morality  of  all  those  which  have  ap- 
peared in  China,  translated  into  French  by  the  P.  Gaubil, 
a  Jesuit,  and  the  Ta-Hio,  (the  great  science),  explained  the 
Koua  (art  of  writing)  of  Fou-hi,  founder  of  the  Chinese  mo- 
narchy. TseU'Sse,  whose  real  name  was  Youan-hian,  was 
grand-son  of  Confucius,  and  imitated  nobly  the  virtues  of  his 
grand-father.  His  first  title  to  glory  is  the  work  entitled 
Tchoung- Young,  in  which  is  a  description  of  the  middle,  a 
kind  of  moral  state,  which  he  considers  as  the  source  of 
inspirations  from  Heaven — as  the  voice  of  reason,  and  as 
conducting  to  the  practice  of  virtue.  Meng-tseUf  sumamed 
during  his  life  Meng-Kho,  next  to  Confucius,  is  considered 
the  greatest  Chinese  philosopher.  He  has  written  the  cele- 
brated work  called  Meng-tseu.  The  sacred  books  of  that 
nation  have  been  translated  into  French  by  the  abb6  Pluquet, 


DISCOURSE. 


13 


under  the  title  of  Uvres  dassiques  de  VEmp^re  de  la  CUne 
M  Abel  Remusat,  well  known  in  the  scienufic  world,  .s  to 
Iblish  every  thing  concerning  Chinese  Philosophy. 
'  To  t^^^^^^^^^^  succeeded  in  Greece  a  kind  of  scepti- 

cism  The  Sophists,  abusing  the  prerogatives  of  reason, 
d^redited  her  noble  attributes  in  the  eyes  of  men  or  began 
contest  her  rights.  Among  the  most  distmgmshed  m^^^ 
known  under  the  name  of  Sophists,  were  Protagoras,  Gorgias 
o    Leontium,  Prodicus,  Hippias  of  Elis  and  Crmas. 

Socrates  appeared  in  the  midst  of  the  contending  sects  and 
of  their  contradictory  opinions :  he  gave  to  the  Grecian  Phi- 
losophy a  new  character :  he  directed  her  to  the  study  of  man 
himself:  he  taught  his  pupils  to  interrogate  their  own  con- 
since-considered  as  indispensable  to  the  happmess  of  man- 
k    d,  the  belief  of  a  Supreme  Being,  as  weU  as  the  hope  of 
a  u ture  life,  and  founded  on  moral  considerations  the  double 
exigence  of  divine  justice  and  of  the  soul's  immortahty 
Sns  became  the  centre  of  philosophical  discussions,  and 
fn  her  narrow  circumference,  were  agitated  all  the  questions 
which  have  exercised  the  meditations  of  the  most  powerful 
Telses      From  Socrates  sprung  soon  five  schools,  which 

viz.  the  Platonian  School,  the  Peripatetick,  that  of  Epi- 
curus, the  Stoician  and  the  Sceptical.     In  fact,  whoever  has 
obser;ed  with  attention  the  nature  and  faculties  of  the  human 
mind,  will  acknowledge  that  there  is  in  Philosophy  but  five 
possible  opinions  essentially  difi-erent,  between  which  we  are 
obliged  to  choose.     For  either  we  must  deny  that  observa- 
tion can  perceive,  and  that  the  mind  can  conceive  but  vam 
appearances  without  realities,  and  that  is  Sceptxmm^Ox  we 
must  admit  a  reality,  but  only  in  external  objects,  and  take 
the  physical  World  for  the  whole  Universe,  and  this  is  the 
opinion  of  Epicurus;  or  absorbed  in  the  contemplauon  of 
consciousnes*-of  human  personality,  the  mmd  penetrates  so 


14 


DISCOURSE. 


deeply  into  itself,  that  it  cannot  re-enter  the  external  world, 
and  denies  or  disdains  every  thing  else,  and  this  is  the  Stoician 
doctrine— Or  as  did  Aristotle,  we  raust  comprehend  at  once 
the  double  existence  of  the  human  mind  and  of  external  na- 
ture, in  acknowledging  the  laws  of  both— Or  in  fine,  as  Plato, 
not  satisfied  to  embrace  the  Universe  and  all  its  parts,  we 
must  rise  to  something  superior— to  this  concealed  unity,  so 
diflicult  to  seize — ^to  this  eternal  cause — universal  substance 
which  contains  and  animates  what  we  call  the  spiritual  and 
material  world. 

After  Socrates  had  been  condemned  to  drink  hemlock, 
some  of  his  disciples  preserved  religiously  his  doctrine :  such 
were  Xenophon,  Eschines  and  Crito.  The  others  divided 
themselves  into  four  principal  sects — the  Cynick— the  Cy- 
renaick— the  Eretriack  and  Megarick. 

The  splendid  eloquence  of  Plato,  founder  of  the  Academy, 
shines  yet,  after  more  than  two  thousand  years,  and  his  ge- 
nius, displayed  in  his  immortal  writings,  preserves  still  its 
brilliancy.     Among  a  crowd  of  disciples,  Aristotle   distin- 
guished himself  by  his  calmness  in  the  midst  of  a  universal 
enthusiam  excited  by  the  gorgeous  inspirations  of  Plato ;  and 
when  this  philosopher  designated  Xenocrates  for  his  sue- 
cessor,  the  rivalry  of  Aristotle  became  evident :  he  boldly 
professed  the  Philosophy  of  the  Lyceum,  in  opposition  to 
that  of  the  Academy.     Aristotle  was  less  shining  than  Plato, 
but  his  arguments  were  irresistible.    He  possessed  prodigious 
knowledge,  activity  of  genius,  and  a  superior  understanding. 
"It  is  experience  alone,"  says  he,  «  which  furnishes  the  prin- 
ciples of  every  science.     We  obtain  all  knowledge  either  by 
induction  or  by  demonstration."    The  development  of  his 
political  and  metaphysical  opinions,  are  to  be  found  in  his 
treatises  of  Politicks,  Logick  and  Morals. 

Such  were  the  doctrines  which  filled  up  the  second  epoch 
of  Grecian  Philosophy. 


DISCOURSE. 


15 


It  is  well  known,  that  the  celebrated  Athenian  Embassy, 
composed  of  Carneades,  Diogenes,  the  Stoick,  and  Crito- 
laus  was  sent  back  by  the  orders  of  Cato  the  Censor,  and 
proud  Rome  denied  hospitality  to  Philosophy.     I  must,  how- 
ever,  mention  the  efforts  made  afterwards  by  some  great  men, 
to  transplant  to  that  city  the  philosophical  studies  of  the  Aca- 
demy,  which  were  revived  by  the  exertions  of  LucuUus,  Varro 
and  Cicero.     The  Lyceum  was  supported  by  Cratippus  and 
Andronicus.     Lucretius,  in  his  poem  De  Kaiura  Rerun,  de- 
scribes  in  beautiful  lines  the  doctrines  of  Epicurus.     Some 
celebrated   Romans   adopted   the  Stoicism,  introduced  by 
Panetius.     Seneca,  Epictetus  and  Marcus  Aurelius  applied 
themselves  to  Moral  Philosophy. 

But  it  was  in  Egypt  that  the  seat  of  a  new  sect,  under  the 
name  of  Eclectism,  was  established  in  the  city  of  Alexandria, 
central  to  Asia,  Africa  and  Europe  as  a  common  country  open 
to  all  languages,  religions  and  doctrines— to  all  celebrated 
men  from  every  part  of  the  globe.  This  school  undertook 
to  conciliate  the  dogmas  of  Pythagoras,  Plato,  Aristotle  and 
Zeno.  Among  those  who  distinguished  themselves,  are  Po- 
tamon,  Ammonius,  Saccas,  Plotinus,  Porphyrus,  Amelius, 
lamblicus  and  Proclus. 

At  the  same  time,  some  other  philosophers  reviewed  and 
criticised  the  numerous  existing  systems,  ^nesidemus  and 
Sextus-Empiricus  re-produced  scepticism,  and  gave  to  it  a 
new  form  and  energy.  One  can  distinguish,  says  Sextus, 
three  kinds  of  criterium,  that  is  to  say  of  instruments,  to 
distinguish  truth  from  falsehood :  the  first  belongs  to  man,— 
the  second  to  the  intellect,— the  third  to  the  action  by  which 
the  mind  is  applied  to  objects  :  this  is  what  is  called  crUerium 
it  quOi  per  quod,  secundum  quod. 

Several  of  the  fathers  of  the  Christian  Church,  initiated 
in  the  doctrines  of  Alexandria,  mixed  them  sometimes  with 
their  religious  dogmas:  Saint  Justin,  Theophilus,  Synesius, 


16 


DISCOURSE. 


DISCOURSE. 


17 


ff' 


t  .1 


Eusebius,  Athenagoras,  saint  Clement,  the  celebrated  Origen, 
and  saint  Augustin,  bishop  of  Hippona,  were  favorable  to  phi- 
losophical studies,  and  above  all,  to  the  opinions  of  Plato ;  but 
Tertullian,  Hermias,  Lactance,  excluded  Philosophy  from 
Theology. 

Soon  afterwards  began  a  period  of  darkness  and  barbarism. 
The  genius  of  Freedom  and  Philosophy  was  long  eclipsed. 
Three  nations  preserved  some  remains  of  the  ancient  edifice 
of  sciences :  the  Arabians,  during  the  time  of  their  power ; 
the  Grecian  Empire,  during  its  gradual  decline,  and  the  La- 
tins of  the  West.  The  first  commented  on  the  writings  of 
Aristotle,  and  adopted  his  opinions ;  the  second  inherited  the 
syncretism  of  Alexandria,  and  added  to  it  frivolous  subtilties, 
and  the  third  knew  very  little  more  than  some  works  of  Boe- 
tius  and  Cassiodorus.  Beda,  Alcuinus,  Rhabanus  Maurus, 
John  Scot  Erigena,  are  almost  the  only  names  which  de- 
serve to  be  noticed  during  three  hundred  years. 

In  the  eleventh  century,  the  Scholastick  Philosophy  began, 
in  the  West,  to  take  a  distinct  character  and  the  first  degree 
of  development :  its  rudiments  were  borrowed  from  the  Ara- 
bian School.  In  a  strange  and  unhappy  attempt,  Raimond 
LuUe  found,  however,  a  sect.  The  famous  controversy  of 
the  Realists  and  of  the  JSTominals,  divided  the  opinions.  A 
small  number  of  men  took  rank  among  philosophers,  in 
thinking  with  independence  :  such  were  Thomas  of  Aquinus, 
Roger  Bacon,  Richard  Suisset,  William  Occam. 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  some  indefati- 
gable literati  comment  on  the  doctrines  of  antiquity  and  cause 
them  to  revive:  the  fugitive  Greeks  from  Constantinople 
spread,  and  gave  an  impulse  to  their  researches.  At  the  same 
time  appeared  3ome  bold  and  original  thinkers.  Jordan  Bruno, 
Laurent  Valla,  Jerome  Cordan,  Campanella  endeavoured  to 
enlarge  the  field  of  philosophical  investigations.  Lewis  Vives, 
Erasmus,  Ramus,  employed  their  talents  to  change  and  im- 


prove methods.    Montaigne  afid  Charron  directed  Philosophy 

to  the  study  of  man. 

Most  of  the  great  men  of  that  epoch  were  the  victims  of 
odious  persecutions.  The  illustrious  Galileo,  whose  immortal 
discoveries  opened  the  career  to  Viviani,  Toricelli,  Newton, 
exhibits  many  examples  of  the  shameful  intolerance  of  these 
times.  This  philosopher  having  adopted  the  system  of  Co- 
pernicus, and  publicly  said  that  the  earth  is  turning  and  the 
sun  motionless,  the  court  of  Rome  believed  that  the  bases  of 
religion  were  shaken  by  these  assertions,  and  considered 
them  as  contrary  to  the  Holy  Scriptures.  These  bigoted 
theologians  prosecuted  Galileo ;  they  arraigned  him  before  the 
tribunal  of  the  Inquisition  of  Rome,  in  1633,  where  he  was 
compelled  to  abjure,  on  his  knees,  his  hand  on  the  Gospel, 
his  supposed  error  and  heresies.  Thus,  as  M.  J.  F.  Casimir 
Delavigne  beautifully  says,  he  expiated 

"  L'inexcusable  tort  d'avoir  trop  tot  raison." 

He  was  condemned  to  perpetual  imprisonment.  It  is  said 
that  at  the  very  moment  of  his  abjuration,  he  could  not  pre- 
vent himself  from  exclaiming,  in  striking  the  earth  with  his 
foot :  "  E  pur  si  muove." 

Bacon  perceived  that  the  very  foundation  of  science  ought 
to  be  reformed :  he  embraced  the  whole  system  of  human 
knowledge,  and  displays  his  wonderful  genius  in  bis  Instau^^ 
ratio  Magna,  divided  into  four  parts-cle  Digmtate  et  aug- 
mentis  Scientiammr-^-Kovum  Organum,  &c. 

Descartes  was  also  one  of  those  superior  minds  mtended 
to  perform  a  revolution  in  sciences :  he  was  the  first  who  made 
the  application  of  Algebra  to  Geometry,  and  signalized  him- 
self  in  almost  every  department ;  his  doctrines  inspired  great 
enthusiasm.  His  system  of  Whirlwinds  has  lost  its  reputa- 
tion,  but  his  Metaphysical  Meditations,  his  Principles  of  Phi- 
losophy, his  Discourse  on  Method,  contain  many  profound 

and  judicious  thoughts. 

3 


18 


DISCOURSE. 


Locke  gave  the  example  of  a  new  order  of  researches,  in 
tracing  the  history  of  the  human  understanding.  Leibnitz 
wrote  on  almost  all  the  branches  of  knowledge ;  attempted 
to  reform  Descartes — attacked  the  reasonings  of  Locke  against 
innate  ideas,  and  admitted  the  pre-established  harmony,  Gas- 
sendi  revived  the  doctrine  of  Epicurus,  and  adopted  the  ce- 
lebrated axiom,  Mhil  est  in  intellectu,  quod  non  fuerit  prius 
in  sensu.  Philosophy,  according  to  him,  is  the  love,  study 
and  practice  of  wisdom:  and  wisdom  consists  in  judging 
soundly  of  things,  in  acting  with  equity  in  social  intercourse, 
so  as  to  have  a  tendency  to  truth  and  virtue.  Spinosa  re- 
newed, with  skilfulness,  the  opinions  of  Xenophanes.  Bayle 
was  one  of  those  great  men  who  have  illustrated  the  repub- 
lick  of  Letters. 

The  eighteenth  century  produced  four  schools :  the  ideal- 
ism founded  by  Berkley.  Hume  opened  a  new  career  to 
Scepticism.  The  Scotish  School,  composed  of  Reid,  Beattie, 
Brown,  Dugald  Stewart,  &c.  attempted  to  fill  up  the  defi- 
ciences  in  the  theory  of  Locke,  and  sought,  in  the  nature  of 
the  human  mind,  the  laws  which  ought  to  regulate  our  mental 
faculties.  Kant  examined  what  human  reason  can  compre- 
hend, and  produced  Criticism, 

Condillac,  one  of  the  greatest  philosophers,  published  a 
beautiful  theory,  as  Ch^nier  judiciously  says,  in  which,  sup- 
posing an  animated  statue,  he  isolates  in  it  every  one  of  our 
senses— combines  them  two  by  two,  three  by  three,  then  all 
together,  and  describing  the  sensations  produced  by  each  iso- 
lated sense,  he  proceeds  to  show  those  which  result  from  the 
senses  diversely  combined,  and  finally,  by  the  senses  united. 
Thus  he  gives,  with  clearness  and  precision,  the  natural  his- 
tory of  our  ideas. 

The  limits  of  my  Discourse  prevents  me  from  speaking  of 
ll:  ^  Kliutioii^  of  Bonnet,  Helvetius,  Condorcet,  Maine  de 
Biran,  Jacobi,  Fichte,  Schelling,  &tc.  and  of  those  of  MM. 


DISCOURSE. 


19 


Garat,  Degerando,  Royer  CoUard,  V.  Cousin,  Azais,  Laro- 
miguiere,  baron  Massias,  J.  Droz,  Gioja,  Stc;  but  before  I 
finish  my  enumeration,  I  must  mention  the  works  of  M. 
Destutt  de  Tracy,  as  one  of  the  noblest  monuments  of  ra- 
tional Philosophy, 

After  having  reviewed  very  imperfectly  some  opinions  of 
ancient  and  modern  philosophers, — and  perhaps  exhausted 
the  patience  of  my  auditors,  I  shall  conclude  by  briefly  stating 
the  important  bearings  of  these  studies  on  our  moral  and  in- 
tellectual improvement. 

It  has  often  been  objected  against  Metaphysicks,  that  this 
science  is  obscure,  too  speculative,  and  of  no  great  utility. 
But  upon  what  ground  are  such  reproaches  founded  ?    Ought 
we  to  be  deceived  by  fallacious  argumentations  against  the 
most  rational  of  all  sciences  ?     Because  some  men  take  the 
abuses  of  Philosophy  for  Philosophy  itself,  ought  we  to  neg- 
lect that  study  which  teaches  us  correct  reasoning,  and  how 
to  direct  properly  the  powers  of  our  mind  ?     Because  some 
scribblers  plead  the  cause  of  tyranny,  and  falsify  truth,  must 
we  desire  that  patriots  cease  to  promote  the  progress  of  civili- 
zation, leave  their  genius  dormant,  and  no  longer  enlighten 
the  world  by  their  writings  ?     No,  no,  God  forbid !     The 
study  of  Mental  Philosophy,  as  well  as  every  other  science, 
is  limited  to  the  circle  of  human  experience.     Every  time 
that  we  abandon  experience,  observation  and  meditation  for 
theories  ct  priori,  we  are  deserting  that  path,  which  alone 
is  sure  and  beneficial.     We  are  not  to  decide  if  it  is  better 
or  not,  we  are  acknowledging  an  axiom.     It  is  allowed 
by  every  body,  I  believe,  that  the  mind  is  the  most  important 
part  of  ourselves.     If  its  importance  is  such,  whence  then 
proceeds  the  opinion,  that  the  study  of  this  wonderful  phe- 
nomenon is  almost  deemed  useless?     Will  it  be  said  that  our 
intellectual  faculties  are  not  susceptible  of  improvement? 
—But  are  they  profound  reasoners,  who  believe  mental 


30 


DISCOURSE. 


improvement  impossible  ?  Have  they  penetrated  deeply  into 
the  recesses  of  the  human  heart,  and  analysed  the  intellectual 
faculties  ?  Are  their  investigations  correct  and  their  deci* 
sions  sanctioned  by  experience  ?     No,  no,  far  from  it. 

Is  there  any  more  possibility  to  give  limits  to  human  per- 
fectibility, than  to  sciences  and  arts  ?  No,  certainly.  So 
thought  Bacon,  in  writing  his  immortal  Insiauratio  Magna. 
So  believed  Locke,  in  his  admirable  Essay  coriceming  Hu- 
man Understanding ;  and  such  are  the  enlightened  opinions 
of  Turgot,  Condorcet,  Saint  Simon,  MM.  Destutt  de  Tracy, 
Degerando,  Jeremy  Bentham,  &c. 

I  easily  conceive  that  tyrants  and  prejudiced  men  dislike, 
and  have  been  persecuting  philosophers.  They  deserve  their 
hatred,— because  they  are  raising  and  lighting  up  tiie  Temple 
of  intellectual  and  civil  Freedom,  and  teaching  nations  how  to 
break  tiieir  chains,  in  vindicating  the  dignity  of  our  nature — 
But  let  ignorant  or  servile  declairaers  vociferate  against  them — 
Homer  had  his  Zoilus— Achilles  his  Thersites. 

Happier  days  will  come.  Men  will  be  judged  according 
to  their  real  merit,  and  the  dazzling  trophies  of  an  Alexander 
or  a  Caesar,  will  grow  pale  before  the  glories  of  the  benefac- 
tors of  mankind. 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  assert  that  Ideology  and  Logick  are 
the  light  of  every  rational  knowledge — that  they  constitute  the 
solidity  of  all  sciences  and  arts.  But  they  are  chiefly  im- 
portant in  Education,  Legislation,  Eloquence  and  Morality. 
As  soon  as  children  receive  impressions,  their  education  be- 
gins. From  that  very  moment,  we  should  be  careful  to  im- 
press on  their  infant  minds  every  correct  notion  that  they  are 
able  to  comprehend.  For  Education,  as  justiy  observes  Ber- 
nardin  de  Saint-Pierre,  ought  to  be  la  science  de  la  vie. 

I  do  not  admit  the  opinion  of  Helvetius,  who  says  that  every 
man  is  born  with  equal  capacity — ^but  I  think  that  ahnost 
every  human  being,  properly  managed  and  educated,  is  ca- 


BISCOURSE. 


21 


pable  of  acquiring  a  sound  judgment.  Prejudices  and  ill- 
directed  studies,  instead  of  developing,  pervertiihe  precious 
gifts  bestowed  upon  us  by  the  goodness  of  our  Creator. 

The  admirable  application  that  MM.  Destutt  de  Tracy, 
Benjamin  Constant,  Ch.  Lecomte,  Dunoyer,  J.  Rey,  Jeremy 
Bentham,  and  many  others,  have  made  of  Philosophy  to  Le- 
gislation, may  be  appreciated  by  their  immortal  works. 

What  is  oratory  without  sound  reasoning  ?  What  can  be 
the  influence  of  a  man,  however  witty  or  eloquent  he  may 
be,  as  a  legislator,  a  lawyer,  or  even  in  ordinary  pursuits, 
if  he  has  no  judgment  ? 

But  above  all,  it  is  the  application  of  Philosophy  to  Morality, 
which  is  of  momentous  importance.  How  are  we  to  judge  if 
an  action  is  virtuous  or  not,  and  in  what  does  virtue  consist? 

"  One  man,"  says  Bentham,  "  will  tell  you  that  he  has 
within  him,  something  which  was  given  to  him  to  teach  him 
to  know  what  is  good  and  what  is  evil ;  and  that  something 
he  calls  either  conscience  or  a  moral  sense :  afterwards,  work- 
ing at  his  ease,  he  decides  that  such  a  thing  is  good,  or  that 
such  a  thing  is  bad— ^Why  ?  Because  the  moral  sense  says 
so  to  me ;  or  because  my  conscience  approves  or  disapproves. 

"  Another  appears  and  changes  the  phrase :  it  is  no  longer 
the  moral  sense,  it  is  common  sense  which  teaches  him  what 
is  good  and  what  is  evil :  this  common  sense,  says  he,  is  a 
sense  which  belongs  to  the  whole  human  family :  taking  care 
not  to  include  in  his  estimate  any  of  those  who  do  not  think 
as  he  does. 

"  Another  assures  you  that  moral  sense  and  common  sense 
are  dreams ;  and  that  it  is  the  understanding  which  deter- 
mines what  is  good  and  what  is  bad.  His  understanding  dic- 
tates to  him  so  and  so :  all  wise  and  good  men  have  under- 
standings like  his.  As  for  those  who  do  not  think  as  he  does, 
so  much  the  worse  for  them ;  it  is  a  proof  that  their  under- 
standing is  defective  and  corrupted. 


i^ 


DISCOURSE. 


"  Another  will  inform  you  that  there  is  one  eternal  and  vn- 
changeable  wule  of  right ;  that  that  rule  orders  so  and  so  : 
after  which,  he  retails  to  you  his  individual  opinions,  which 
you  are  hound  to  receive  as  so  many  branches  of  the  eternal 
rule  of  right. 

"  There  are  moreover  a  multitude  of  professors,  of  jurists, 
of  magistrates,  of  philosophers  who  make  your  ears  ring  with 
the  Law  of  Nature :  they  dispute  together,  it  is  very  true, 
upon  every  article  of  their  own  system ;  but  no  matter ;  each 
one  proceeds  with  the  same  intrepidity  and  confidence,  and 
favours  you  with  his  opinions  as  so  many  chapters  of  the  Law 
ofJSTature.  Sometimes  the  phrase  is  modified ;  it  is  sometimes 
called  natural  right,  natural  equity,  the  rights  of  man,  &c. 

"  All  these  systems  and  many  others  are  at  the  bottom, 
nothing  but  the  arbitrary  principle,  the  principles  of  sympathy 
and  antipathy,  concealed  under  different  forms  of  speech. 
We  would  establish  our  own  opinions  without  regard  to  the 
opinions  of  others ;  these  pretended  principles  are  the  excuse 
and  aliment  of  despots,  at  least  of  a  despotic  temper,  which 
would  betray  itself  in  practice,  if  it  could  with  safety.  The 
result  is,  that  with  the  purest  intentions,  a  man  becomes  the 
torment  of  himself,  and  the  scourge  of  his  kind.  If  he  is  of 
a  melancholy  character,  he  sinks  into  a  state  of  gloomy  silence, 
bitterly  deploring  the  folly  and  the  depravity  of  man.  If  he 
is  of  an  irritable  nature,  he  declaims  furiously  against  all  who 
do  not  think  as  he  does :  he  is  one  of  those  fervid  persecu- 
tors who  do  their  mischief  with  an  air  of  sanctity;  who  blow 
the  fires  of  fanaticism,  with  an  activity  which  would  seem  to 
proceed  only  from  a  sense  of  duty ;  and  who  overwhelm  with 
reproaches  for  their  perversity  and  bad  faith,  aU  those  who 
do  not  blindly  adopt  their  consecrated  opinions." 

"  To  the  partizan  of  utility,  the  principle  of  virtue,"  con- 
tinues Bentham,  "  is  good,  only  because  of  the  pleasures  which 
are  derived  from  it;  and  vice  is  evil,  only  because  of  its 


• 


DISCOURSE. 


23 


tendency  to  produce  pain.  Moral  good  is  a  good  only  because 
of  its  tendency  to  produce  physical  good ;  moraf  evil  is  bad 
only  because  of  its  tendency  to  produce  physical  evil.  The 
only  sure  guide  for  doing  well,  under  all  circumstances,  is  a 
consideration  of  the  principle  of  utility."* 

«*  Dr.  Dwight  argues  also,  says  Mr.  G.  Payne,  that  virtue 
must  have  its  foundation  in  utility,  because  there  is  no  ulti- 
mate good  but  happiness.  Virtue  is  the  means  of  happiness, 
and  like  all  other  species  of  means,  is  only  valuable  on  ac- 
count of  the  end  to  which  it  leads.  "  If  virtue,"  says  he, 
"  brought  with  it  no  enjoyment  to  us,  and  produced  no  hap- 
piness to  others,  it  would  be  wholly  destitute  of  all  the  impor- 
tance, beauty  and  glory,  with  which  it  is  now  invested.  Vir- 
tue, therefore,  must  have  its  foundation  in  utility." 

My  intention  is  not,  at  present,  to  review  the  principles  of 
Mandeville,  Hume,  Richard  Price,  Clarke,  Adam  Smith, 
Hutcheson,  Paley,  Beattie,  Brown,  &c.  concerning  morality; 
nor  to  give  my  own  opinions  on  the  source  of  ethicks,  for  such 
a  discussion  would  carry  us  too  far. 

We  need  not  be  afraid  of  kindling  vanity  in  a  superior  mind 
by  the  sublime  studies  of  Philosophy ;  for  the  more  we  ascend 
the  Mountain  of  Knowledge,  the  more  the  horizon  increases, 
and  the  more  we  become  convinced  that,  however  extensive 
our  attainments  may  be,  we  are  far  from  embracing  the  im- 
mense circle  of  human  investigations. 

Mirabeau  judiciously  admired  the  two  splendid  following 
lines,  composed  by  Lemierre,  on  this  subject : 

"  Croire  tout  decouvert  est  une  erreur  profonde, 
C'est  prendre  Thorison  pour  les  homes  du  monde." 


*  These  ohservations  are  taken  from  Mr.  J.  Neal's  translation.  This  dio- 
tinguished  writer  has  promised  that  he  would  translate  some  other  works  of 
the  celebrated  Bentham,  published  in  French  by  E.  Dumont. 


H 


(,' 


84 


DISCOURSE. 


Though  some  men  think  that  women  ought  not  to  receive 
a  solid  and  brilliant  education,  as  for  me,  I  do  not  see  any 
reason  why  the  loveliest  part  of  creation  should  be  deprived 
of  mental  accomplishments  or  excluded  from  the  samituary 
of  knowledge.  Is  not  moral  and  intellectual  beauty  more' use- 
ful and  more  lasting  than  physical?  Is  it  frail  and  evanescent 
beauty  which  ought -to  attract  our  admiration,  and  make  us 
exclaim  in  the  words  of  Otway : 

<<  Oh  woman !  loyely  woman !  nature  made  thee 
To  temper  mark —  '     '  ^ 

Angels  are  painted  fairi  to  look  like  you : 
There's  in  you  all  that  we  believe  of  heaven ; 
Amazing  brightness,  purity  and  truth. 
Eternal  joy,  and  everlasting  love." 

Certainly  the  studies  of  Logick  and  Moral  Philosophy  are 
kK)  less  useful  to  women  tlian  to  men.  "  To  beauty  and  pros- 
perity there  is  an  end,  as  well  as  beginning.  All  earthly 
things  rise  to  fall,  and  grow  up  to  wither  with  age,  but  the 
mind  is  eternal,  incorruptible,  the  head  of  the  human  family, 
directing  and  governing  all  things,  itself  independent." 

Let  us  be  convinced  that  correct  reasoning  is  the  source  of 
correct  acting,  and  that  intellectual  slavery  is  not  less  fatal 
to  our  happiness  than  political  bondage. 

I  will  end  by  wishing  that  the  study  of  Mental  Philosophy 
may  kindle  in  the  hearts  of  my  fellow-beings  the  love  of  justice 
and  benevolence,  and  promote  those  generous  feelings  of  social 
harmony  which  are  the  true  elements  of  human  happiness  I 


111 


.* 


) 


l» 


